Russia’s international standing collapsed within weeks of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions swept across Russian banks, businesses and political elites, while western companies exited the country en masse. For those living inside Russia, it was the everyday, tangible shifts that made this feel real. Western goods disappeared from supermarket shelves, direct flights to Europe...
A story that places us inside the mind of a character who is remorseful about causing harm can inspire forgiveness for that fictional bad act, a new study finds. But the literary benefits to a reader’s well-being don’t stop there, according to the results: For those of us holding a grudge against someone who wronged...
Women managers are significantly more likely to be promoted to CEO at companies organized into separate business units—each with its own revenues, costs and bottom line—than at companies that operate as a single, stand-alone entity, a new study led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst finds. Women still hold fewer than 10% of CEO positions...
A common complaint today laments the “shamelessness” of politicians. Until recently, the argument goes, more elected officials had a sense of shame to hold them back from ugly words and deeds, at least in public. Many in the current crop, however, seem to have no fear of disgrace; they revel in contempt for the niceties...
Brightly colored packaging, promises of better sexual performance and names like “Rhino,” “Anaconda” and “Magnum” make sexual enhancement products difficult to miss. They can be found online, in convenience stores and at gas stations, and some can even be ordered through delivery services. But what’s inside the package may be considerably different from what appears...
At 24, Boyd was living in Chicago when he decided to get help. He had been drinking alcohol since a young age, but more recently he’d been drinking far more often – and dangerously. He found a rehabilitation center online and reached out to the facility in Orange County, an affluent coastal area of Southern...
Media critic Ben Bagdikian warned in 2004 that five corporations had accumulated “more communications power than was exercised by any despot or dictatorship in history.” More than 20 years later, a major media merger is bringing his warning back into focus. Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in October 2026 created a new company, Skydance...
Artists and thinkers are prompting us to not only reconsider our relationship with the natural world, but to foster actual change. Artists create imagined and otherworldly landscapes in which to reconsider humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Through luminous horizons, abstracted terrains, immersive scenes, and symbolic references to mountains, water, celestial bodies, and exotic creatures, their...
Researchers found that placing sauces separately can make a dish appear healthier even before tasting. Our experience of eating is shaped by the combined influence of vision, smell, touch, and taste. The way food is presented can shape diners’ expectations before they even taste it. Visual features, such as arrangement and esthetic design, can influence...
With more men on the team, it may become harder for women to admit mistakes or see them as learning opportunities, shows study of workplaces with ‘harsh error culture’. We all make them, and we all make them at work: mistakes on the job happen regardless of line of work, experience, and gender. How employees...